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1.2.3-Aresnergal
Brick!Club 1.2.3. HÉROÏSME DE L’OBÉISSANCE PASSIVE In which your servant heroically shut up and obeys while your frighteningly cute guest repeats his life story and it’s sad and unfair but don’t forget to show off your silverwares ! OK so back in the previous chapter we ended on door knocking And WOW IT’S VALJEAN no one is surprised. I’m saying it now because there is just so much times in this book when it will be Valjean and no one will be surprised. Hugo is great but he just doesn’t do great surprising reveals. What he does great however, is pathos, aka “come and feel terribly sad for that character who has the worst life ever” which immediately comes into play when poor Valjean immediately introduces himself as a recently released prisoner and recounting how awful his day was and when Myriel accepts to give him dinner and shelter he insists. Like “BUT DUDE DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND LOOK LOOK IT SAYS I’M DANGEROUS I WAS IN FOR THEFT DON’T YOU FEAR ME” Also his number of evasions, but we’ll talk about it later, but yeah it’s probably smarter not to try to escape at all. I like how at this time of the story Valjean really do speak like a naive kid who’s too used of being scolded constantly - or yeah, a puppy, but the kid analogy is funny because that sounds just like Cosette later on. He has the same surprise of suddenly being treated respectfully by a complete stranger. Also, the two ladies. Apparently Baptistine is confident enough into the magical luck of her brother (or his judgement but seriously he’s lucky). Magloire spontaneously putting the good wine on the table kind of make me wonder wether she has a bit of pity herself despite also being worried about, you know, getting robbed or killed in their sleep, or if she was anticipating that the Bishop would want her to put the bottle on the table. Or yes, as someone suggested, if she hoped it would knock him off for good, but I can’t lie, I’d like to think she’s just being nice in her way despite her fear xD Also, the silverwares. Obviously it’s anvilicious foreshadowing (though we all know the story so maybe people reading it at the time were surprised somehow. I started by reading the book but my dad already told me that part like years before so I never really entered in the story without knowing about a good third of it ) but yeah, in-story, that’s the sort of tricky displaying, because even though the Bishop probably feels it like being part of a natural respect towards any guest, but it CAN be perceived as a “wow, that nice dude does have pretty things that are definitely worth at least as much as my 19 years of hard working !” And Obviously Valjean just happens to have a story in mind with a bishop which he just feels compelled to tell while not knowing he’s in front of one. I think the awful thing about that story is that not only they couldn’t hear the guy and only saw him and his golden hat, which is basically “they’re denied the words of god (I’m not a believer but Hugo is so I’ll roll with it) while still seeing the wealth of the institution”, but on top of that, there are CANNONS POINTING AT THEM. Ready to fire. I understand that you need to ensure the dude with the golden hat doesn’t get mugged, but here they simultaneously have the clergy showing off its wealth without communicating with them, and agents of authority, in other word of the government, menacing them of slaughter constantly all the time they’re sitting there. There’s still one good point with the jail; at least he learned how to read. That’s… the one good thing we can say about it, but it’s already pretty important. Back to the bishop, it’s a shame you English-speaking readers don’t have the “tu” and “vous” distinction, but yeah, the bishop says “vous” to him which is a mark of respect while the “tu”, when used with a stranger, kind of diminish him (it’s respectful pretty much only when you’re with someone close to you) There’s also the “you’re called my brother” line, which is kind of cheesy but still, it must be super nice when you’ve been treated like shit for 19 years. I must also admit I chuckled when the bishop says that “everything here is yours”. MOAR FORESHADOWING DID YOU SEE THAT. Oh Hugo, we hear you coming from so so far away with your big shoes. Commentary Pilferingapples WE HEAR YOU COMING FROM SO FAR AWAY WITH YOUR BIG SHOES, oh my gosh, that’s brilliant I had a teacher once say there’s foreshadowing and then there’s whatever they were doing in the 19th century. I feel like the narrative voice is sometimes sports-announcing the actual plot. “it’s the plot point! it’s up, it’s up, it…OH, it needed to not be noticed by Javert! Ten chapter penalty!” Drinkwithgrantaire In my head I couldn’t help being like, “MUST BE JAVERT VALJEAN! HE’S FOUND MY COVER AT LAST!”